Södra Cell’s Värö mill chooses Valmet to supply major upgrade
Dec 22, 2020
Valmet will upgrade the fiber line and recausticizing plant, as well as rebuild the pulp drying line, as part of Södra Cell’s Värö mill expansion in Sweden. The orders are part of the mill’s Expansion Värö 2.0 plan to increase the capacity to 850,000 tonnes per year. The increase is taking place in two steps, with the first aiming to reach 780,000 tonnes per year by 2022. The upgrade and rebuild will be undertaken by Valmet during 2021, and all equipment will be dimensioned for the second step.
In 2016, Värö was completely rebuilt to become one of the world’s largest and most modern softwood pulp mills with a capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year. Valmet was selected at that time as the supplier for upgrading the whole mill. Now it has been chosen again for this further expansion.
Valmet will deliver two TwinRoll wash presses and a Green Liquor Clarifier G2 (formerly OptiClear) to increase capacity in the existing green liquor handling. In addition Valmet will supply a new causticizer to increase residence time.
TwinRoll press means easy operation and lower environmental impact
“Our investment in two new TwinRoll wash presses is another step in our ongoing work to offer the market the best possible pulp, both in terms of quality and sustainability,” says Mehdi Arjmand, Fiber line Department Manager at Värö. “Our pulp already meets the specifications very well, but this upgrade increases the washing efficiency and raises our pulp purity to an even higher level. The greatest benefits these presses give to the fiber line are, by far, their easy operation and low need for maintenance. At the same time, we are able to minimize our impact on the environment, which is very important for us at Södra Cell Värö, by reducing water consumption, effluent volumes and chemical consumption.”
The project is a highly-targeted debottlenecking aimed at getting the highest positive impact on production and the environment, at the lowest expense. “With these new investments, the remaining bottlenecks in the fiber line and pulp drying line will be eliminated and Värö can increase its capacity towards the new target,” explains Mikael Gustafsson, Senior Sales Manager, Fiber Processing Business Unit at Valmet. “Low effluent flows and high environmental performance will be ensured with the latest generation of TwinRoll wash presses throughout the fiber line.”
“We are also pleased,” continues Gustafsson, “that Södra Cell Värö has now selected Valmet to install another Green Liquor Clarifier, in addition to the Sumithickner that they have operated for almost 10 years. It confirms, once again, that the high reliability, low OPEX and good process performance this technology delivers is appreciated among our customers.”
Record-setting pulp dryer to be improved even further
The rebuild of the pulp dryer, which in 2020 set a world productivity record for Nordic softwood, will allow it to handle the extra pulp coming off the fiber line. A complete pick-up suction roll and felt loop change will be done to improve machine capacity. In addition, the cutter layboy will be rebuilt to speed up the bale table and the lifting forks movement. Supporting tests for the drying line rebuild will be done at the pilot facilities in Inkeroinen, Finland, in the beginning of 2021.
“With this complete upgrade of the line, we are confident that the Värö mill will be able to further improve their world record as the most efficient drying machine for Nordic softwood,” comments Antti Suoknuuti, Sales Director, Wood and Pulp Handling Business Unit at Valmet.
Products produced at Värö mill
- Most ECF pulps (TCF on request)
- renewable energy
- district heating
- biofuel
